


The Nameless Commander

by ValorousLeader



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, CT-6116 | Kix is So Done, Gen, I like surprises, Krell needs to die, Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Protective CC-2224 | Cody, Umbara Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), Umbara is a Spooky Place, another character will be added to the list once they are revealed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26487736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValorousLeader/pseuds/ValorousLeader
Summary: In this universe, Krell was already on Umbara, with his own battalion and commander. In another universe, Anakin and the 501st might have been very familiar with this commander.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 82





	1. Touchdown

General Anakin Skywalker of the 501st walked among his men, feeling happy despite their deployment to Umbara that was coming soon. And why not? His men were loyal, brave soldiers who had good ideas of their own and they respected him. He noted his padawan, Ahsoka, leaving after talking with Fives, the ARC trooper. They got along well, with Ahsoka’s energy matched by Fives’s mischief. Perhaps he should be worried that Fives was now in earnest conversation with Hardcase, another of the company’s troublemakers, but right now he didn’t care. And it would be rather hypocritical of him. It couldn’t hurt to pop into the conversation, though. If they were planning something, it would be fun to watch them, horrible liars both of them, try to make excuses.

Hardcase was talking quite passionately. “...and his casualty rates! 80%! If you ask me-”

“What would they ask you about, Hardcase?” Anakin interrupted. They apparently weren’t planning anything.

“Oh, General, sorry. I didn’t realize you were there. We were talking about the Nameless Commander, sir.”

He raised an eyebrow. “The what?”

“The Nameless Commander, sir,” Fives answered. “He’s the clone commander of the 304th, General Krell’s battalion.”

“Why’s he called that?”

“He doesn’t have a name. None of his men do. They all go by their numbers. No one knows why he insists on it, but we’ve heard it.”

Anakin frowned slightly. The clones he knew all valued their individuality highly and took great pride in their names. Why would a clone insist on his number, on his men going by their numbers? But there was something else. What Hardcase had been talking about when he came up. “There’s something else that bothers you about him, isn’t there?”

“Yes, sir, there is. His casualty rates. He has an average casualty rate of 80%. He’s throwing away the lives of his brothers in every battle.”

“You know, that could not be the _Commander’s_ fault. It could be the General’s.”

Fives and Hardcase both shook their heads. “With all due respect, sir, the General is a Jedi. He wouldn’t. We’ve had clones turn bad before. Slick, for example.”

“I remember.” Anakin did remember. Slick’s betrayal had hurt deeply.

“All I can say,” Five scowled, “is that the Nameless Commander isn’t worthy to be called a clone, much less a _vod_.”

Anakin nodded, then left. There wasn’t much he could have said to that. The men under his command were very passionate and a clone who they considered a traitor in some way was the object of their highest scorn. And besides, he was supposed to be meeting up with Obi-Wan and Cody, before their legions left together for Umbara.

The two men he needed to see were at the command center, conferring over potential battle plans. Cody’s helmet was off and his face was expectant as Anakin walked up. He suspected that the expectation had little to do with his military skill and more to do with how entertaining Cody found him and Obi-Wan when they were together.

“Hey, Cody, Obi-Wan. What’s the situation?”

His former master answered him. “We’ll be providing assistance to General Krell and the 304th. They’ve been on Umbara for a while now and have suffered heavy losses.”

“You know, I was just talking with Fives and Jesse about the 304th. They called Krell’s clone commander the Nameless Commander. You know anything about him, Cody?”

“Not much, sir. I’ve heard rumors, but I’ve never met him or any of his men. I have, however, met clones who confirm that he and his men only use their numbers.”

“Only their numbers?” Obi-Wan was incredulous. He knew the names of all of his men, even the ones he didn’t interact with on a constant basis. “Why don’t they have names?”

“No idea, sir. Most people believe it’s the commander.”

“Have you ever known any clones who went by their numbers?”

“One, sir, but he doesn’t count. We called him ‘67 but that was just because he hadn’t picked a name yet. He was really eager to get a name; we just hadn’t found the right one yet.”

“Well, maybe we’ll get the chance to ask.”

* * *

In the shuttle, Fives stood behind General Skywalker, waiting for their touchdown on Umbara. He’d heard their assignment. The local people of Umbara had allied with the Separatists and had been engaged in combat with the GAR for several weeks now.

The battalion currently engaged there was the 304th, under General Pong Krell and the Nameless Commander. Traitor. Worse than Slick, who’d operated under a twisted sense of loyalty to his _vode_. What the Nameless Commander had done was inexcusable. He let his _vode_ die.

The shuttle touched down in a captured Umbaran base and Fives walked out, side by side with Lt. Jesse, following their general, who was clearly spoiling for a fight. Commander Tano stepped out of the other shuttle, chatting with Hardcase, Kix, and Tup. His legion’s _Jettii_ were the best of the best, no doubt about that. Though Generals Kenobi, Windu, Koon, and Secura were pretty good too.

General Krell stood waiting for them, his four arms behind his back as he surveyed them. A solitary clone stood with him, to the right and slightly behind. The Nameless Commander. He wore a black pauldron and kata, but his armor itself was completely bare, except for the helmet. On the helmet were jaig eyes, drawn in scarlet. Fives seethed. For Mandalorians, and all clones counted themselves as such, jaig eyes represented courage, valor, honor. This _aruetii_ had not earned and certainly did not deserve them.

The scarlet color was interesting, though. He wasn’t a member of the Coruscant guard or the 187th, so why a shade of red? Scarlet meant defiance in Mandalorian culture. Fives snorted. The Nameless Commander, defiant. Yeah, right.

Generals Skywalker and Kenobi and Commander Tano walked over to General Krell, friendly smiles on their faces but the expression of a hardened soldier about to go into battle in their eyes. Krell didn’t change expression at all.

“Nice of you two to join me. You’re just in time for the next assault. Generals…?”

General Kenobi nodded deferentially, even though Krell really should know who they are. Five had noticed that Kenobi generally did the introductions and dealings with new people. Probably best that Skywalker didn’t. “Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. This is my second-in-command, Commander Cody-” he nodded at Cody in recognition, “-and this is Anakin’s Padawan, Commander Ahsoka Tano, and his men, Lt. Jesse and ARC-trooper Fives. The best of the best.”

Krell grunted noncommittally, then gestured for the three Jedi to follow him, without introducing his commander to them. Fives thought he was the only one who noticed, but Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tano stood there, eyebrows raised as they glanced between the besalisk general and his commander.

The Nameless Commander followed Krell, still behind and to the right, down a corridor. The general walked straight down the corridor, but the commander only went halfway, before turning to the right. 

“Cody!” Kenobi called. “Why don’t you take Jesse and Fives, and get the men into the barracks? I think that’s where Krell’s commander went.”

General Kenobi had tact. He called him ‘Krell’s commander’. General Skywalker had called him nothing but the ‘Nameless Commander’ since he’d heard the name. Fives agreed with Skywalker.

“Yes, sir.” Cody nodded to the two 501st men and they walked off.

* * *

Fives headed into the barracks, where the 304th, 501st, and 212th were all stationed. Cody and Jesse, as the highest-ranking clones in their battalions, got their own rooms, near Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tano’s. But Fives, despite being an ARC-trooper, was to bunk in the barracks, which was set up in a closed-off hangar.

The Nameless Commander was there, for some reason. Shouldn’t he have been in his own officer’s quarters? But no, he was sitting on one of the trooper bunks, his armor and helmet still on. In fact, all of the 304th troopers still had their armor on. Not a single one had stripped down to blacks. Sure, regs said that armor was to be worn at all times when not sleeping, but no general ever enforced it.

Some of the 501st and 212th men tried to talk to them but based on how quickly they walked back to their bunks, they’d been quickly repulsed. Fives laughed at the expression on Hardcase’s face as he walked back from his own attempt.

One of the 304th men looked over at Fives’s armor, his eyes sweeping over, stopping longingly at the blue paint. His own armor was completely white, almost like a shiny's save for the extreme amount of scratches and dents.

Fives looked away for a moment, then glanced back and realized he couldn’t tell which _vod_ it had been who’d been staring. Every single 304th trooper looked the same. Not just the way all of the clone troopers looked the same since they shared a face, but nothing was different between these soldiers. There were no tattoos and all of the haircuts were regulation. Now, there were a few that had scarring on the face or places where injuries prevented some of an eyebrow or part of their hair from growing, but other than that there was no real variance. They looked like… what the longnecks had wanted the clone army to be.

This was worse than Five had imagined. The Nameless Commander had denied his men the ability to express their individuality through their armor, their physical appearance, or even their names. There were no words, not in Basic, Mando’a, Huttese, or any other language, to describe this kind of monstrosity.

* * *

Anakin fiddled with his mechanical arm, lost in thought. He switched and switched back several settings without even noticing. He’d not stopped thinking about the Nameless Commander since he’d first seen him. And the weight he was feeling from the Force wasn’t helping. Not at all.

Obi-Wan was apparently calm, sitting as he was on the chair in Anakin’s room, drinking tea and listening to Ahsoka’s freaked out ramblings. His former master drained the almost boiling and unsweetened tea in one gulp, then reached for another cup. It was his fifth. So Obi-Wan felt it too.

He prodded the weight, anxious. Nudges to the Force came from around him. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka prodding too. The weight was stolid, crushing those who were unfortunate enough to be able to feel it, oppressing those without a connection to the mysterious Force. Anakin reached a little deeper into it, then drew back quickly. It was cold, the dead cold of space. The Dark Side. The Dark Side was here. And judging by the expressions on his companion’s faces, they agreed with his assessment. 


	2. Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here!

Obi-Wan stood in the command center of the captured base, his gaze intent on the hologram of the next base to capture. The Umbarans had paved roads connecting their bases but only an idiot would use them, especially since they could only be used in a frontal assault. The men would have to trek through the difficult Umbaran terrain to make surprise attacks at numerous points.

“Anakin, you and Ahsoka will split the 501st into three groups. They’ll attack at two points on the south side and one on the west. I’ll take the 212th and have them attack at points mirroring yours. The 304th will be divided into all of the groups. The trick will be to make sure the attacks are at the same time.”

Anakin nodded then looked at his lieutenant. “What do you think, Jesse?”

“Seems good to me. Any more obvious of an assault and we’d be done for.”

Obi-Wan glanced at Cody, to confirm visually that his commander still agreed with the plan they’d decided on. He did and so Obi-Wan turned to Krell and his commander, who oddly enough still had his helmet on.

“General Krell… Commander, any thoughts?”

“Might I suggest, Master Kenobi,” Krell spoke, “That instead of simply using the 304th to pad the numbers of the attack groups, that I provide a distraction, a way to make your attacks all the more effective?”

“That…” Obi-Wan thought for a moment. ‘... could actually be very helpful. Do you have anything particular in mind?”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll get you your distraction.”

He jerked his head. “Commander.”

With that, Krell stalked out－that seemed to be the only way he moved－with his commander following behind and to the right. After the general exited the room, the commander paused just for a moment, nodding to the remaining men before continuing on.

“I don’t like those two,” Fives muttered.

‘Really, Fives,” Ahsoka laughed. “Wait two seconds after they leave before bad-mouthing them.”

“Don’t tell me you like them.”

“Well, no, but I’m trying to exercise tact. It’s a new concept I learned from Obi-Wan.”

* * *

Breathing hard, Fives trudged into the newly captured base. Almost all of the 501st and 212th were already insideㄧhad long been insideㄧbut the 304th had yet to show. He shrugged. They were probably just taking a while to walk back.

Speaking of walking, everything hurt, to the extent where he was willingly going to see Kix. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it sure felt like it.

As he neared Kix, the medic looked up and saw him, a sadistic smile on his face. On second thought, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Kix would hold it over him for the rest of their lives and beyond.

“Fives! Will wonders never cease? Are you really coming to see me of your own free will?”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up, Kix. I could have your head for insubordination.”

“Please!” Kix’s smile grew even more terrifying. “You lost all authority over me the moment you walked into my medbay.”

“This isn’t even a real medbay; it’s a storage room!”

“As long as we’re here, it’s the medbay. Now quit whining.” The medic pulled Fives to a bed and pushed him into a sitting position on it.

“ _Usen’ye_ (1), Kix,” Fives grouched.

“No can do. You came to me, remember?”

“Remind me why I did that again?”

“Because your brain finally decided to work? Now let me do my job.”

After sulking in silence for a few moments, Fives spoke up. “So how was it?”

Kix’s jaw tightened, but other than that he looked unchanged. “Not awful. Minimal casualties and all the deaths happened before they got to the medbay. I- I didn’t lose anyone while working on them. We don’t have too many who needed to stay here.”

“How’re you holding up?”

“A few of the dead were shinies,” was all Kix said but Fives understood.

_Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'l_ (2).”

“Yeah.”

After a minute of silence, sounds came from the hall. Footsteps, a good number of them. But no talking. Eventually, troopers with the unmarked armor of the 304th legion walked in, about five hundred of them. Although, perhaps walking wasn’t the best word. Only a fifth of them were doing what could be considered walking, albeit some with a limp. The rest were being supported or carried by another trooper.

And unmarked no longer described their armor. Scorch marks and plant acid intermingled with splotches of pale blue and bright red blood. The Nameless Commander, who was walking while carrying a limp soldier, was almost completely covered in red.

Fives stared, transfixed. But Kix wasn’t. He yelled for the rest of the medics, and as the blue and gold troopers came running, he addressed the commander, calming himself.

“Is this all of the wounded?”

“All of those in immediate need of attention.” He jerked his head and those of the 304th standing without help moved the others onto beds, before then moving himself to lower the soldier he’d been carrying onto the bed Fives had just vacated.

“If there are more injured, send them here,” Kix demanded. Fives looked with concern at the dwindling number of beds.

“You do not have space for any more. This is everyone who requires medical attention,” the Nameless Commander insisted, something akin to panic buried in his tone. “I cannot send everyone who is injured. You don’t have enough room for my whole legion.”

He cut himself off with an audible click of teeth, having obviously said more than he intended.

Fives moved closer to him, concern for his brothers making him angry. “All 9,000 of your men are injured?!!”

“I only have 2,000 men now.” His tone was dead. Several of his men moved closer behind him.

Kix moved more in front of Fives, placing himself between the two. “Judging by the amount of blood on you, sir, you need attention.”

“No, it’s notㄧ I mean, I don’t needㄧ I’m notㄧ it’s not myㄧ it’s mostly not myㄧ it’s not my blood.”

Kix raised an eyebrow. Fives knew that look. It was the I-don’t-get-not-paid-enough-to-deal-with-your-lies expression. And even he, in his state of blinding anger, could hear how very much in shock the Nameless Commander sounded.

“Commander, I really think thatㄧ”

“Medic,” the commander snapped. “I do not require medical attention.”

He stalked off and stood next to the bed of one of his men, his words belied by trembling. 

The man on the bed, with old and new scars covering his face, put his hand on the commander’s arm. “I’m sorry, sir. CT-4746ㄧ heㄧ Iㄧ I couldn’t save him, sir.”

“It wasn’t your fault, _verd_ (3). You did your best.”

“Butㄧ”

“There was nothing you could’ve done. _Ni su'cuyi_ …”

The soldier joined in and they finished together. “... _gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum_ (4). CT-4746.”

A moment later, the commander stood up and started walking off. “I should be going. The General will be expecting my report.”

“ _K’oyacyi_.”

Fives raised his eyebrow. _K’oyacyi_. It meant ‘Come back safely’ or literally ‘stay alive.’ Why would the trooper say that to the commander?

The Nameless Commander paused and turned back to the soldier. “Get some rest, Atinii (5).”

  
  


“Sirㄧ”

“ _Nu’baati’ni_ (6).”

As he walked away, Fives stood still, oblivious to Kix’s attempts to move him out of the way.

Had the Nameless Commander just called one of his men by a name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 - rudest way to tell someone to go away  
> 2 - "Not gone, merely marching far away"; Mandalorian phrase for the departed  
> 3 - soldier or warrior  
> 4 - "I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal"—Daily remembrance of those passed on, followed by the names of those being remembered  
> 5 - endure, stick with, tough it out  
> 6 - "Don't worry about me"
> 
> If you liked this story, please give it kudos and comments. In your comments, tell me what elements and lines you liked specifically. I want to know what I'm doing right.
> 
> Also, if anyone knows how to do links from text in the story to the endnotes (for the purpose of having an appendix), could you tell me how to do it?


End file.
